It's the Lungfish, stupid: knowledge fights, activism, and the science–policy interface

Abstract

Since the post-positivist turn in the 20th century, many scholars and philosophers have argued for the importance of Other Ways Of Knowing -including local, embodied, situated, partial, and indigenous knowledges -in developing a better understanding of the world. This argument has been further stressed by a large subset of scholars working in the fields of geography, policy, planning, natural resource management, and community development, yet in practice, positivism retains its epistemological dominance. Drawing from a case study of a dam proposal at Traveston Crossing, Queensland, Australia, this paper will explore these epistemological tensions from the perspective of those whose first/primary ways of knowing about the issue were marginalised, namely the local activists who opposed the proposal. Using data gathered from document analysis and interviews, the paper will explore how these activists implicitly understood this epistemological marginalisation, how they adopted and employed positivist knowledge and language to further the exposure and credibility of their campaign, how this credibility was mediated by their identities, how they strategically deployed different forms of knowledge at local, national, and international scales, and how their successful navigation of these epistemological tensions was critical to the ultimate success of their campaign.

Responding to change: lessons from water management for metropolitan governance

“…Notably, in issues around building dams and water recycling, community engagement was often limited (in part due to the urgency of the issue) and resulted in confrontation (Morgan and Grant-Smith 2015;Morgan and Osborne 2016). Community engagement in urban water management can improve water planning outcomes, build trust in organisations, and help achieve water sensitive outcomes for urban resilience and sustainability (Dean et al 2016;Hatfield-Dodds, Leitch, and Syme 2007).…”

Biogeographies: Transcending anthropocentrism in the Anthropocene

“…In a turn to regulatory environments, Morgan and Osborne (2016) have recounted how ‘rational’ scientistic logic and evidence required under Queensland planning law forced local activists opposed to the Traveston Dam proposal to abandon other forms of knowing that are local, situated, embodied, and explicitly value‐laden. Powerful social factors such as loss of community and sense of place, connectivity, agricultural production, social capital, and Indigenous heritage motivated the activists but were unquantifiable and rejected within positivist planning and policy processes.…”